If you are an animal lover looking to do a good deed for a worthwhile cause then Guide Dogs is looking for puppy walkers.

No, it's not a paid role, but it's possibly the greatest voluntary role ever.

While the title does cover one of the main responsibilities of the role, it’s important to note that this is not a casual position. As a puppy walker, suitable candidates will share their home with a pup for the good part of a year – preparing them for their important job ahead.

Puppy walkers play a vital role in the early socialisation and education of guide dogs.

At about six weeks of age, puppies start their early training, remaining with the walker until they are around one year old, at which point they are transferred to a training centre to begin their specialised training.

The aim of puppy walking is to produce a puppy that is socially well behaved, friendly and responsive to the handler.

It is also important that the puppy is at ease in all environments, including town conditions, is relaxed and confident when using all types of transport and learns an acceptable standard of behaviour on the lead.

The perks of the role speak for themselves.. (Image: Artur Lesniak/Trinity Mirror)

As each puppy is an individual, Guide Dogs staff will advise its walkers on the best way to achieve good results and the most appropriate time to introduce the puppy to these new environments.

In a nutshell the puppy walker role involves:

Feeding, training and generally caring for a puppy's needs on a daily basis. (This is time consuming and, particularly when very young, pups cannot be left on their own for more than three hours)

Developing and caring for a puppy as directed by your supervisor and as described in Puppy Walking Policies and Procedures.

Familiarising the puppy with many different environments

Teaching basic obedience commands.

As for the person Guide Dogs is looking for to take on the role, someone with good communication and interpersonal skills is a must, experience with dogs is an advantage. Walkers will also need a suitable area where the puppy could go to the toilet during the day, including first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

While the role is voluntary, food and vet costs are covered by the charity.

Her latest addition, Ezra, is a lovable golden lab who has just joined the family.

“I wanted my children to grow up with dogs,” explained Norma. “But my husband wasn’t overly keen on having a dog for ten or 12 years, he thought it was a bit of a commitment.

“I read about Guide Dogs and the puppy walking role and I thought it was a wonderful idea to have the joy of a pup and to watch them grow and then they go off to a loving home and you get to decide whether you want another one or not.”

Of course, Norma did decide she wanted another after the first, adding that she was ‘smitten’ from the very beginning.

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While Norma makes the role seem easy, it shouldn’t be taken lightly as you are ensuring a pup learns the essential foundations for a life as a valuable companion to someone who relies on them.

“They come to you and they have no training,” says Norma. “First you must toilet train them as they have just left their mum and the litter so they have no previous training at all.

“Then you teach them to walk on the lead. After that you start on basic commands.

“But the most important thing you do as a puppy walker is get the dog used to the world. Everywhere you go – pubs, restaurants, the GP surgery, buses, trains – the puppy goes with you. That way nothing fazes them and so when they are a guide dog their owner won’t have any issues with the behaviour of the dog.”

You would think after 49, the puppies would all blur into one but Norma insists every dog stands out and while ‘some are better than others’ they all have their own loveable personality.

“One of the pups we had only had to look at a car and she would throw up,” Norma remembers. “But she was okay on buses and trains. Thankfully she completed her training and was partnered with someone who very rarely used a car and used the bus to get around.”

The best job in the world? Quite Possibly (Image: Artur Lesniak/Trinity Mirror)

Finally, we had to ask Norma the question I’m sure you’re all wanting to know – is it hard to say goodbye.

“I am always asked that question. Everyone says ‘oh I couldn’t let them go’,” Norma says. “The first time was awful. Everybody cried – I cried, the children cried, even my husband cried. After that we made the mistake of leaving it a few weeks before the next pup arrived and we realised that was the wrong thing to do.

“From then on it’s been as soon as one leaves, the next one is through the door – sometimes we’ve trained three dogs at the same time – the overlap is good for us and good for the new pups as they have someone to cuddle up to at night.

“But yes, the first one is hard, the second one is easier and by the third one you’re sort of used to it and by ten months, when they’ve undergone most of their training you’re ready for the next little one.”

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As Norma’s next pup will be the big 50, she and her family are hoping they will be able to raise £5,000 to not only look after the pup but also name them. She is hoping to set up a JustGiving page in the near future and is currently in the process of thinking of a name to reflect the special number.

If you are eager to become a puppy pal you can find out more information and an application form here

For more voluntary and paid positions in Gloucestershire visit Fish4jobs